4. 4
After I shut the van’s door, one of the things screamed like it was alerting the others to our location, and it was only seconds until their heavy footsteps became apparent.
I ran back to Elias, and he was already busy clipping the corner of the fence.
“I’m only clipping enough for us to squeeze through. I don’t want them getting out,” he said, not looking up from his work.
The first creature showed itself, and as it saw the two of us, it engaged in an all out sprint. Shaky hands raising my pistol, I fired one round, missing its head but piercing its neck. It staggered, but didn’t give up its pursuit.
“Try to slow them down, Cassia. I only need a minute.”
Infinitely louder than the closing of a door, the gun shot only encouraged more to appear. Some were already injured, stumbling along, but others had the fervor of Dr. Fassi, and ran ahead of those that were slow moving.
“I’m so sorry, Elias. I’m so sorry. This is my fault.
” My voice caught in my throat as I tried to apologize to the man who had saved my life twice already, realizing that I was likely a lost cause.
I expected him to rip the laptop from the bag and make a run for it, having decided that the barbed wire couldn’t shred him open too badly.
“Focus,” he urged. “We’ll make it out of here.”
I took a deep breath, willing my hands to still, and fired again into another creature, this one running toward us at full speed. I hit his knee, and he fell to the ground. He didn’t give up, but he resorted to crawling, and that would buy us some time.
Another one, this time to my left. Two shots to the head and he was down. He didn’t get back up.
A woman I recognized as Dr. Lisa Miller was closest to us now, and I fired again, surprising myself by my lack of hesitation. When it came to fight or flight, I normally chose flight.
I missed. I pulled the trigger twice and downed her, before refocusing on the one I left crawling.
Click.
The magazine was empty. How many shots had I fired?
It couldn’t have been more than five or six.
In a panic, I threw the gun at a nearby car, breaking the window in the process.
The wails of the car alarm were enough to distract the growing horde, and they changed their target from us to the lights and sounds of the vehicle in front of me.
A strong arm pulled me down to the ground, and I attempted to retreat before I realized it was Elias. He forced me forward, the both of us on our hands and knees, and held up the cut corner of the fence.
“Go,” was all he said.
He used his foot to shove me through before crawling through himself. He rolled forward, finding his footing, and shot up, but not before yanking me to my feet.
“This way,” he commanded, and I ran after him as he sped down the street.
He may have been faster than I was, but the fresh air, fading sunlight, and spark of hope gave me a burst of speed I didn’t think was possible. I wasn’t graceful by any means, and my steps echoed along the empty street, but I ran.
The Baker and Pryor campus was located in the industrial area of town, secluded and out of the way. The surrounding area was never busy, and the nearest building was a few blocks down the road. There simply wasn’t a reason for anyone else to be around.
Elias beat me to his car, an old Chevy Tahoe, lifted to the high heavens, and he waited there, with the door open and his gun drawn until I could jump into the passenger seat.
He only entered after I did, and as he locked us in, the tears that had been patiently waiting their turn worked their way out.
We made it.
He sat in the driver’s seat panting, hand on the key in the ignition.
“In the future,” he started, his voice gentle. “I would appreciate it if you avoided causing a catastrophe.”
I didn’t respond.
I leaned forward in my seat, hands over my eyes, already soaked with tears. Silent sobs racked my body, and I did my best to hold my breath. I didn’t want to scream. I didn’t want to be the weak link that killed us both, and yet I nearly did by being careless.
In a few hours, my average morning had transitioned to a nightmare, worse than anything that I could have dreamed up.
My only shot at survival was the man next to me, and the only thing I could be sure of was that he was deadlier than the weapon he carried.
I couldn’t even be sure that his name was Elias, because honestly, who the fuck was named that?
“Hey,” he said, placing his warm hand on my back. “We’re okay.”
My breath was uneven, but I forced myself to take in air. “I know. I’m just. . . I don’t know.”
“You’ve been through a lot today. It’s okay to cry.”
“Then why aren’t you?” I asked. Irrational question, but I didn’t have a grip on my thoughts.
“Like I said, I’ve seen a few things.” He tinkered with the two-way radio mounted next to the center console. “We’re going to my home until I can reach someone.”
He spouted nonsense into the receiver: numbers, colors, words that could not be understood without context. One word stood out to me though, Panacea. I’d heard it plenty of times in popular culture, but its origin was the goddess of remedies and health.
A voice came through on the radio and uttered only, “Roger that.”
The car rolled forward as Elias pushed on the accelerator, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember him even starting the car. I was a bit preoccupied.
My eyes were glued to the window, searching for a sign of life. After a few minutes, the city came into view and I saw people, real people, walking around.
“They’re not infected!” I exclaimed, pointing out the window.
“The building was locked down pretty tight. I wouldn’t be surprised if it can be contained entirely.”
“And by contained, you mean. . .”
“Yeah,” he huffed. “Exactly what you’re thinking. Which is why that laptop is the most important laptop in the world right now.”
I turned to face him, head cocked in question. “If they’re going to kill everyone, then why would vaccine research be helpful? The virus will no longer exist.”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel.
“I really wish it were that simple. Someone’s already got their hands on it, clearly.
And they intend to use it. I think today was just a test. They wanted to see how it worked and they wanted to scrub all record of it by destroying those who were looking into it. Like you and Dr. Fassi.”
“Where does all of this leave me?” I asked.
What I really wanted to know was what could I possibly do now?
My phone, car, and job were all gone, in a matter of hours.
I lived in staff housing on campus, so I surely couldn’t return home, either.
I had nothing but a broken laptop and a stolen backpack.
“With me. You can’t exactly go home. Also, you know too much.”
“You know where I live?” I was horrified. How much did he know?
“Cassie, I’ve been surveying the campus for months now, I pretty much know all there is to know about Baker and Pryor and its employees.” He sounded exhausted, and was definitely tired of explaining himself to me.
“Have you been watching me, like through the windows of my apartment?”
His left hand stayed on the steering wheel, but the right moved to pinch the bridge of his nose. “What? No. Do I seem creepy to you? Is there something about me that would make you think I’m trying to watch you undress?” He asked, his voice incredulous.
“Yeah, a little,” I nodded.
He scoffed. “Thanks for holding me in such high regard. For the record, you came on to me first. Maybe I should be worried about you stalking me.”
“I don’t know anything about you,” I retorted. “I don’t even think Elias is your real name.”
“Cassie, I talk to you everyday." He glanced at me, giving me the side-eye. "Elias is definitely my real name. Take this off,” he said, pulling at the straps of the backpack. “And put your seatbelt on. You’re a VIP now, so you need to stay alive.”
I complied, setting the backpack on the floor at my feet and buckling myself in.
“So,” I started. “Where exactly are we going?” A part of me was afraid he was turning me in somewhere. An underground government secret lair, maybe. They’d perform all sorts of tests and interrogate me for information before they finally killed me.
“I live about forty-five minutes from the city.”
“That’s one hell of a commute. You drive that daily?” I asked.
“If I have an assignment within two hours of my home, I typically just drive. Anything further and I’ll rent an apartment or something. Most of my work takes place in Virginia though, so I am home most of the year.”
Elias flicked on the stereo, and a familiar noise filled the car. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Deftones?” I asked, giggling.
He eyed me suspiciously. “Is there a problem?”
“No, it just makes sense that you listen to them, that’s all.”
“Would you care to explain?” He asked, treading lightly, like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know.
I felt myself blush. “Their music is angry and horny and it just makes a lot of sense that you would enjoy it.”
He smirked. “And you said you knew nothing about me.”
I laughed, the release as powerful as my earlier tears, and I turned away in my seat, head resting on the window.
I had forty-five minutes to pretend I was okay.